Trump understands root causes of Ukraine conflict – Putin aide

The general anti-Russian mood in the West hinders progress toward a ceasefire, Yuri Ushakov says

The Trump administration understands the key causes of the Ukraine conflict, President Vladimir Putin’s top aide has said. Yuri Ushakov emphasized, however, that a major obstacle to a peace deal is the widespread anti-Russian sentiment in the West.

Ushakov made the remarks in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, which was recorded on Thursday and released on Saturday.

Zarubin asked Ushakov whether he believed the US understood “the nuances” of Russian views on a potential peace deal.

“It seems to me that the American leadership, including the president, understands the root causes of the conflict,” Ushakov said.

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The diplomat noted, however, that “an anti-Russian climate has been created in America and Europe over the past years and even decades.”

“This climate hinders the advancement of quite reasonable ideas, which some leaders, including in Washington, agree with,” he said.

President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russian troops would observe a 30-hour Easter truce starting at 6 pm local time on Saturday. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said shortly afterward that Kiev would “act in a reciprocal way.”

Trump and his team have stated that their goal is to broker a comprehensive ceasefire as soon as possible. Moscow has said that a lasting peace is only possible if Ukraine drops its plans to join NATO and renounces its claims on Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions that voted to become part of Russia.

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Putin said last month that, for a workable ceasefire, Ukraine must stop receiving Western military aid and withdraw its troops from parts of Russian territory it currently controls.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the 30-day moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure brokered by the US last month. Moscow recorded around 100 violations since the agreement took effect on March 18.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Friday that time is running out for diplomacy. He said the Trump administration is prepared to “throw in the towel soon” if talks do not progress.